^{July 07, 2025 | Edition #108}

👋 Hey, Hoophead!

What do you get when you pit a team of fearless college hoopers against Kamilla Cardoso and a seasoned Brazil squad on the international stage? You get pure gold. While the young guns brought glory back home, in the W, the battles were just as intense. Wins were earned, losses stung, and in the middle of it all, the All-Star reserves list dropped. And let’s just say, it had smiles, celebrations, and well…snub talks.

Team USA’s College Queens Take Down Brazil

Imagine the kind of depth and talent it takes to send a team full of college players to a pro national event and still walk away with the Gold. Since the WNBA doesn’t take a break during this tournament, Team USA turns to college stars to compete in the FIBA AmeriCup. This year’s edition was a rematch of the 2023 Final - USA vs. Brazil.

As the defending champs, Brazil reached the Final undefeated. So did the U.S. When it came down to the wire, it was the young Americans who had just enough juice to seal a 92-84 win over Brazil. Sure, this was a major international win, but something even bigger might be brewing back home for these college stars. Check out what it is!

Led by some of the brightest names in college hoops - Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson, TCU’s Olivia Miles, and the Longhorns’ Madison Booker - this U.S. squad was stacked. The story of the Final ran deeper than just a win, though.

The court turned into a Gamecock showdown real quick, with South Carolina's former star, Kamilla Cardoso, and current Gamecock Joyce Edwards going head-to-head. Kamilla dropped 19 points and kept her team alive early, while Indiana’s Damiri Dantas led Brazil with 35.

On the other side, Edwards had 11 points and 7 boards, stepping up every time the game got close. However, it was Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes who took home the MVP honors with a 27-point performance. And just like that, the U.S. found the rhythm in the second half and bagged their fifth Gold medal at the AmeriCup.

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The All-Star Roster Is Set

We finally have the full All-Star cast! The league’s head coaches made it official, naming the 12 reserves who’ll join the 10 already-announced starters. Sure, the list has some seasoned All-Star vets. But the real buzz is all about the first-timers.

Four new faces are getting their shot at an All-Star moment this year, and almost every team’s got someone in the mix, except the Connecticut Sun. That just adds to what’s already been a pretty gloomy season for them. Here’s the full All-Star roster!

The biggest flex has to be that history is being made, courtesy of the talented rookie class. For the first time since 2011 and only the fifth time ever, we’re getting three rookies in the All-Star Game: Paige Bueckers, Kiki Iriafen, and Sonia Citron. To add to it, the Mystics’ rookies are the first rookie All-Star teammates since 1999.

However, not all “firsts” come with celebration. This will be the first time Arike Ogunbowale will miss the All-Star Game since her rookie season. Yet, truth be told, that wasn’t even the most jaw-dropping snub. As the league rolled out cakes, flowers, and celebration videos for the chosen ones, fans and players alike fired up the conversation online about who should’ve made it.

Dearica Hamby didn’t make the All-Star cut herself, but she still went to bat for her teammate Azurá Stevens, and she’s got a point. Stevens is part of a pretty exclusive list this season, and every single player in the top 10 made the All-Star team, except her. Take a look at the list yourself. How did she end up being the only one left out?

Nonetheless, what’s done is done. The starters are set. The reserves are in. Now it’s time for Captains Caitlin Clark and Napheesa Collier to play GM. ESPN will broadcast the roster draft for the All-Star Game during an hourlong edition of WNBA Countdown on Tuesday, July 8 (7 p.m. ET).

Overlooked No More! Kayla Thornton Becomes 7th Undrafted All-Star, Check Out Who All Came Before Her

A Rough Sunday for Two East Squads

Sunday delivered two losses, and two very different kinds of “uh-oh” energy. Let’s start in Connecticut, where it just keeps getting harder to watch. The Sun dropped their franchise-record 10th straight game with an 86-68 loss to the Aces. Tina Charles didn’t start for the first time this season, and honestly, things looked off before the opening tip.

They did have a tiny spark, cutting the deficit to four at the end of the first and tying it early in the second, but then…A’ja Wilson happened. She completely took over both ends of the court. If you need a snapshot of her dominance, just watch this magical sequence of lockdown defense and smooth offense.

One of the only bright spots in this ongoing slide for the Sun remains rookie Aneesah Morrow. She has averaged 16 points and 8.3 rebounds over the last three games. While it’s all been downhill for the Sun, things haven’t been much better for the Liberty either.

After bouncing back to the win column on Thursday, they dropped another one, their sixth loss in the last nine games. The Seattle Storm pulled off a 79-70 win thanks to a 22-6 third-quarter run.

Five Storm players hit double digits, and Libs, who had a three-point lead at halftime, just couldn’t close the gap. But when it comes to highlight plays, New York had their moments. Sabrina Ionescu was dropping dimes like poetry. These two crazy passes that resulted in easy buckets show how locked in she was.

However, it wasn’t enough to stop Seattle’s momentum. The loss drops New York to 12-6, while Seattle moves up to 12-7…and trust us, that matters. The standings are shifting fast.

"Nothing Worse!" New York’s Jonquel Jones Explodes After Brutal All-Star Snub

✨ She Got Glam! ✨

Queen of the Tunnel! Hands down, nobody’s touching Olivia Nelson-Ododa when it comes to tunnel fits. We were still recovering from that blue feathered slay, and she did it again. That said, while her drip stays undefeated, things on the court have not been so fabulous. She landed on this Top 10 list no one wants to make. However, we must say it’s not entirely her fault.

Lynx’s Home Magic & Indy’s Plum Curse in Full Force

The way Kelsey Plum plays, you just know she hates losing. And when it comes to the Fever, she probably doesn’t know what losing to them even feels like. Why, you ask? Well, with yet another win on the board, Plum is now 21-1 all-time against Indiana. Nineteen of those wins came with the Aces, and the last two came straight from the Sparks' second-half comeback playbook.

Since dominating the fourth quarter en route to an 85-75 win over the Fever on June 26, the Sparks had lost two straight. 10 days later, they faced Indy again and won in the exact same way as before. It was another physical game, led by Azurá Stevens with 21 points, but Kelsey Plum’s 20 and her memorable moments stole the spotlight.

Like when she almost walked over Lexie Hull, or that one moment when she got knocked to the ground but instead of getting up right away, she just lay there. And then, what she did after getting tripped will have you rolling. Check it out. It was peak Plum energy, and no doubt, LA fed off it, winning 89-87.

Meanwhile, up in Minnesota, it was business as usual. On Saturday, the Lynx shut down a late Valkyries push with pesky defense and 22 points from Phee. That helped them move to 10-0 at home. Do you know how the last five teams to achieve a 10-0 home start all ended the season? This is how!

Then, on Sunday, came the Sky. On the back of Courtney Williams’ 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, Minnesota won 80-75. Despite an early hole, the Lynx flipped the switch in the second quarter and never looked back. Keeping their cool through a few heated moments, the No.1 team in the W continues to dominate.

Vice President AND Founder? Phee Claps Back at CBA Conflict Claims Over Unrivaled Role

📝 More Stories to Check Out

1. ESPN’s Carolyn Peck Backpedals After Bold Caitlin Clark Take Blows Up - Full Story

2. 6x WNBA All-Star Hesitates Comparing Paige Bueckers with Diana Taurasi - Full Story

3. "We Get Anxious!" Stephanie White’s Fever Diagnosis Is Starting to Sound Like a Loop? - Full Story

4. Choked on the Court? The Sophie Cunningham Moment That Stole Hearts Against LA - Full Story

5. Chicago HC Joins the Bandwagon! Tyler Marsh Takes Subtle Shot at WNBA Officials After Loss - Full Story

That’s it for today, folks! We’ll look to knock on your inbox soon with more interesting stories!

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